


Shut Up and Dance

by blackjacktheboss



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 05:17:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11914002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackjacktheboss/pseuds/blackjacktheboss





	Shut Up and Dance

Jason sat at the bar with is back to the wall, nursing a Shirley Temple and scanning the throngs of people that occupied the space he had come to think of as a refuge from long work days and boring saturday nights. Music poured out of the speakers and sent vibrations through Jason’s chest, his foot tapping and head nodding along to the up tempo beats. As he continued to people watch, his eye landed on a couple in the corner diagonal from where he sat. A brunette guy stood against the wall as a short blonde pulled on his arms, seemingly attempting to get him out onto the dance floor. The man shook his head repeatedly and while Jason couldn’t see the girl’s face, he suspected it was pulled into a pout because soon enough the man relented and let the woman lead him into the jungle of people who were dancing like maniacs. Jason couldn’t help but smile because it reminded him of almost two years ago when the exact same thing had happened to him.

He had never been much of a dancer growing up. Sure, he enjoyed the occasional jam session while driving around with his big sister and he had slow danced at school dances as awkwardly as anyone else, but it wasn’t something he would have ever listed as something he particularly enjoyed or something he would choose to do. Meeting Piper completely changed that.

–

Percy had all but dragged Jason to The Vine, a bar that was only a few blocks away from the apartment they shared. Jason had tried to assure his roommate that he would have rathered spend his night curled up with a cup of tea and a nice documentary, but Percy disagreed vehemently and was much more persuasive than Jason gave him credit for.

As soon as they arrived at the bar, Jason wanted to leave. The music was too loud, the crowd was too big, and he suddenly felt ridiculous in his cardigan and skinny tie that had seemed like such a good idea when he was getting dressed. But Percy wouldn’t acknowledge any of Jason’s complaints and simply took his friend by the hand, leading him towards the bar and looking back briefly to declare the first round was on him. Percy ordered himself a blue hawaiian while Jason ordered a virgin Shirley Temple with extra cherries, and they managed to find an open spot against the wall where they could stand while Jason got acclimated to the environment.

Within an hour, Percy’s girlfriend Annabeth had found them and Percy led her to the bar to get her a drink. Jason looked around at all his peers who seemed to be having a great time and he couldn’t help but wonder if there was some big clue to your mid twenties that he hadn’t been given. In the time it took him to look down at his drink and pick a cherry to eat, a very visibly drunk girl had bum rushed him and appeared to his left.

“You’re cute!” She shouted over the music, her face way too close to Jason’s, and her hot breath fogging up his glasses.

Jason simply gave her a shy smile, not wanting to engage as he placed his drink in the crook of his arm. He used his other hand to take his glasses off of his face so he could wipe them, and right then another girl appeared on Jason’s right. He hurried to put his glasses back on, and found a girl with chocolate brown hair in two short braids and the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.

She walked with all the confidence in the world and didn’t falter as she placed a kiss to Jason’s cheek, promptly turning towards the drunk girl who just stared. “I’m Piper, nice to meet you.”

“Is this your boyfriend?”

“Sure is,” Piper affirmed, her hand resting on Jason’s arm.

The drunk girl proceeded to apologize emphatically and shamed Jason for leading her on when he had a girlfriend. All he could think to do was apologize and soon enough she was stumbling back into the crowd. As soon as she was gone Piper turned back to Jason and offered him her hand. “Like I said, I’m Piper. Sorry if I crossed any lines by kissing you on the cheek, you just looked really scared so I thought I’d help you out.”

Jason’s mouth had suddenly gone dry and he suspected her beautiful smile and dazzling eyes were the cause of his completely stunned senses. She waited patiently for him to process what she had said and a smirk that made Jason’s adam’s apple bob pulled at the corners of her lips.

“I’m Jason, and I appreciate the help. This isn’t really my scene so I was vastly underprepared to deal with that.”

They shared a laugh and managed to keep the conversation going despite the loud music. Jason spotted Percy and Annabeth out of the corner of his eye, but Annabeth thankfully dragged Percy in the opposite direction when she noticed Piper. The conversation between them flowed easily and Jason’s cheeks were starting to get sore from how much he was smiling. A few times while he spoke she reached over and grabbed a cherry out of his drink, and Jason stumbled over his words as he watched the bright red touch her lips. Piper was in the middle of telling him about the recreational softball league she was a part of when her eyes suddenly went wide and she grabbed his arm.

“I love this song!” Her hand ran down Jason’s arm and settled on top of his, pulling him lightly towards the dance floor. “Dance with me!”

Jason froze, “Uh- I- I don’t- I can’t-”

“Not a dancer, huh?”

Jason blushed and looked down, “No, not really.”

Piper carefully wove her fingers with Jason’s and stepped closer to him, lifting his chin so his eyes met hers. “It’s about having fun. No technique required. Just keep your eyes on me, okay?”

He handed his drink off to a bus boy who was walking by, and followed Piper’s lead out onto the dance floor. She started dancing, her body moving in time to the beat of the song that blared through the speakers. Jason tried to follow suit, moving side to side and bobbing his head to the beat as best he could. His nervous eyes left Piper’s just long enough to spot a couple of guys on the side of the dance floor watching Piper with hungry eyes and looking at him with what might have been pity. That was all it took for Jason to lose his nerve.

He pulled away from Piper, mouthing an “I’m sorry” before walking towards the door. He didn’t get very far before Piper was pulling on his arm and spinning him back towards her.

“Jason, please don’t go.”

Her eyes pleaded with him as the crowd around them continued to sway with the music when a random girl was pushed into Piper, pushing her towards Jason who caught her with steady arms. He looked down at her and tried to focus on the pressure of her hands on his arms so as to not get completely overwhelmed by the way his heart was thumping in his chest. Jason wasn’t generally the insecure type but he couldn’t help but feel completely out of place. He just wasn’t the type to go out and dance the night away with someone he had met two hours ago. But here he was, in the middle of a dance floor of a random bar with his arms wrapped around the most amazing woman he had ever met and he had a chance. A chance to dance with her, to make her smile, to hear her laugh, to be close to her.

He decided it was a chance he couldn’t pass up.

–

Jason was shaken from his reverie when a familiar form emerged from the crowd in front of him. Piper was wearing a backless sundress with sunflowers on it and some old black vans, and Jason thought she had never looked more beautiful. Of course, to be fair, he thought that about her every day.

“Hey there, sailor.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her lips to his. “Did you save me a cherry?”

Jason smiled wide and held his cup up to her, “Always.” She smiled and plucked the cherry out from the glass, scrunching her face at Jason as she ate it.

Before Jason could ask about her day at work or how her phone call with her mom went, a familiar song started to play. Piper smiled mischievously and Jason looked over at the dj booth where their mutual friend Leo raised a glass to him. In a familiar scene, Piper set the glass down on the bar and without a word started to pull Jason towards the dance floor. This time, he didn’t bother fighting it.

They found a spot in the middle of the dance floor and Jason’s vision tunneled onto Piper, her words from that first night echoing in his head. _Just keep your eyes on me_. As they moved in tune with each other and the music, hands and fates intertwined, Jason was overwhelmed with how much he loved her. He knew without a doubt they were born to be together. In every possible universe, this woman was his destiny, and he sure as hell had no plans to let her go. Every time he looked at her, he saw his entire future unfolding in front of him: vacations, holidays, a home, pets, kids. He saw everything and he wanted it all with her. And this was another chance with her he couldn’t pass up.

“Piper, will you marry me?”

She stopped dancing and looked at him, trying to survey his seriousness. When she saw the way his jaw clenched and his eyes intensified, she knew it was a real offer. Before panic could get a foothold in Jason’s gut, Piper smiled. “Yes.”

Jason’s smile spread from ear to ear as he stepped forward to envelope his girlfriend, no- fiancée, into a kiss. He pulled away, their faces just an inch away from each other but before Jason could say another word, Piper placed her finger to his lips.


End file.
